Improving public speaking presentation skills

When Chris Cooksey was eight years old, he became aware that he had a stammer. It would slowly take control of his life, filling him with fear about speaking publicly or chatting to strangers. Now 70, the speech problem is still very much with him, but at the age of 54 he decided it was time to stand up to his impediment and fight back. So for the last 16 years he has been bravely battling to overcome it, and last Thursday (October 18) he gave a speech to the Capel Men's Group at its monthly meeting at The Inn on the Green in Ockley. It was a huge achievement for a man who counts public speaking as his biggest fear. Elderly lady waits 'nearly an hour' for ambulance after breaking cheekbone in Cobham crash He said: "My history is that I became aware of it when I was eight, then I had speech therapy which didn't help at all, in fact it made it worse because it sort of focused my mind on it. "I had hypnosis, I had psychological therapy which didn't work either, so after a year I gave … [Read more...] about How man plagued by stammer overcame it to make public speeches

There will be some humorous talking going on at the Thame Town Hall. Thame Speakers Club will be in action when members and non-members take part at their ‘Humorous Speech Contest’ on Wednesday, September 26.The Speakers Club welcomes visitors to attend the contest even if you don’t want to speak, but just listen.A free welcome glass of wine will await you on arrival at the event that kicks off at 7.30pm with an informal networking session - a great chance to meet new faces from the local area.The speaking will begin at 8pm and continue until 9.30pm. A club spokesman said: “An entertaining evening is guaranteed, and with speakers of all levels competing, it’s a great chance to gain insight into how you can develop your own public speaking skills, no matter how competent you feel.”Wellbeing expert George Anderson, who since joining Toastmasters in 2007 has developed a career in public speaking, said: “Toastmasters has helped me build my … [Read more...] about Humorous speaking at Thame Town Hall is a contest for all

Press play to listen to this article By FLORIAN EDERwith ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH PRESENTED BY EPP GROUP Send tips here | Tweet @florianeder | Listen to today’s Playbook and view in your browser Birthday today: U.S. President Donald Trump turns 72. His horoscope: “All of a sudden, you’re feeling quite emotional — and even showing your feelings in public. This isn’t what you’re usually known for, so you may be a bit embarrassed, but don’t stop yourself. We all need to express our feelings.” Well … **A message from the EPP Group: Europe stands at a crossroads. We have to choose between national egoism and making Europe a true global power. Currently, a single member country can block any foreign affairs decision. This decision-making process is making the EU extremely weak. The EPP Group fully supports the proposal to switch to majority decision-making in the Council on foreign affairs issues.** GOOD MORNING, DEAR … [Read more...] about POLITICO Brussels Playbook, presented by EPP Group: In European Parliament we trust — Is he having a gaffe? — Jourová talks tough in Malta

Communications and leadership development organisation Toastmasters could attract a new kind of member in the grand duchy with the creation of its first club in Luxembourgish. Toastmasters op Lëtzebuergesch was founded by Luxembourger Damien Welsch after he joined an English-speaking club to help improve his presentation skills for work. “I’ve been a member for one year and I found out Luxembourg people or Luxembourg society as a whole doesn’t know Toastmasters at all,” Welsch told Delano, adding: “I want to change that and make it more visible within Luxembourg and more relevant for the whole community.” The group, which has met twice already this year, is recruiting new members, both native Luxembourgish speakers and non-native speakers. How it works People can attend meetings to see what it is all about, free of charge. If they join as members, they can then follow the online Toastmasters programme, Pathways, in French, English or German. … [Read more...] about Public speaking in Luxembourgish

By RYAN HEATH with FLORIAN EDER PRESENTED BY EPP GROUP Tweet at Ryan Heath and Florian Eder | Subscribe for free |Listen to today’s Playbook and view in your browser Welcome to this special edition of POLITICO’s Playbook coming to you from Paris, where 3,000 ministers, policy geeks and civil society folk from across the world have gathered for the OECD Forum. The forum’s self-imposed job this week: answering Emmanuel Macron’s call to stop multilateralism’s slow death. There’s another more practical challenge facing the OECD: “how to be a data-led organization in a story-led world,” in the words of Wellcome Trust’s Mark Henderson. OECD Secretary-General José Ángel Gurría is realistic about his task, telling the conference’s Tuesday happy hour: “It appears that wine is better than multilateralism at bringing people together.” Do you know someone who would like to read this pop-up Playbook … [Read more...] about POLITICO OECD Forum Playbook, presented by EPP Group: Macrolateralism — Civil society on top — Irish capital flood